Bradley Beach's salt supply dwindles days ahead of nor'easter

Bradley Beach council members say the borough is running out of road salt days before a nor'easter is slated to affect the area.

BRADLEY BEACH – Add this small Jersey Shore borough to the growing list of towns in the northeast who are struggling under the weight of this season’s winter weather.

Bradley Beach may not have enough road salt to combat the winter storm slated to affect the area Wednesday night and Thursday, borough council members said Tuesday evening.

“We have here at Bradley Beach a serious road salt shortage,” Councilman Thomas Volante said. “We may not see our roads cleared all the way down to the blacktop like we are accustomed to.”

Bradley Beach’s shortage is the result of a winter marked with frequent potent coastal storms, Councilman Norman Goldfarb said.

“We seem to be getting a few of the biggest storms we have seen around here in a long time,” Goldfarb said. “Now, we’re expecting another one.”

Goldfarb said that he was reaching out to the county and the state for help in case weather conditions deteriorate.

Monmouth County is currently under a National Weather Service winter storm watch. The agency’s forecasters said that warnings will likely be issued for the area Wednesday afternoon.

Mayor Gary Engelstad said the snowy winter was depleting more than the borough’s salt pile.

“These storms take a toll on our equipment, roads and budget, but they really take a toll on our people.” Engelstad said. “We have one storm coming and maybe more in the pipeline, people are a little worn out.”

Currently, 6-10 inches of snow are predicted for much of Monmouth County, with winds gusting over 30 miles per hour as the nor’easter pulls out to sea.

CONNECT WITH US

Complicating matters, sleet, ice and rain may mix in with the precipitation in coastal areas, and minor coastal flooding may occur during Thursday’s high tides.

Engelstad was able to find humor in the borough’s predicament.

“I’m a southerner, I’m from Maryland, and when my wife and I were considering moving here I asked about the weather,” Engelstad said. “She’s from Ocean. She told me ‘Don’t worry, it never snows by the beach.’ Well, she lied.”